


Basileia

by townshend



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-03
Updated: 2011-05-03
Packaged: 2017-10-18 22:56:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/194215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/townshend/pseuds/townshend
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Master was smiling, and that was worth the entire universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Basileia

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a community based on [this](http://liacht.com/inkandsoul/image_prompts/image4.jpg) image prompt.

The door opened.

"Here we are," the Doctor said, the gentle breeze blowing back against his face. There was a smell in the air, a smell of salt water and sand, and for a moment he thought of Rose and Bad Wolf Bay before he quickly cleared the thought from his mind in case the Master was watching it. It wouldn't do to put him in a _worse_ mood. "The loneliest planet at the end of the universe. Not a speck of life. Well, that isn't microscopic, of course."

The Master stood behind him, peeking, but his interest level was vague at best. The Doctor knew the sorts of things he would prefer to see, but that wouldn't do. Perhaps something peaceful would calm the monster within.

Stepping out, the Doctor's white Converse trainer sunk into the water-logged sand with a squish. He moved further out, leaving a trail of footprints behind, making room for the Master to follow.

"Maybe the first set of footprints this planet's ever seen," the Doctor noted, glancing back at them, picking up a foot and setting it down again.

It was almost eerie. They looked out over the water - a sort of soft pink, mirroring the pinks and blues of the sky. On Earth, this would be the scene of a sunrise or sunset, but it was high noon here - like Gallifrey's sky had been reds and yellows, this one was lit up in altogether different colors, and the light of the water and the sand reflected it.

It was a bit like Gallifrey, really. That had been another reason the Doctor had chosen it; had specifically sought it out.

He wondered how many more undiscovered planets were out there. But this one was different, special - no birds in the sky. No fish in the water. No one. Nothing. Just them.

"It's not so bad," the Master murmured. The ounce of approval was enough to make the Doctor grin.

"Knew you'd like it," he said, relieved. "This can be ours, if you'd like. No one to tell us otherwise. Any time you want to come back, we can come here."

"A planet of my own," the Master said, thoughtfully, as if he'd missed the Doctor's "ours" and interpreted it to mean "yours". The Doctor wasn't about to correct him. It really wasn't worth it. "I think I like that."

"You'll have to name it, then," the Doctor told him. It was a good exercise. Something peaceful and non-violent to have the Master think about, something that wasn't relentless eating and killing and trying to steal the TARDIS. "Something good."

He chose something that meant "Kingdom" in High Gallifreyan - not the humblest of names, really, when the Doctor knew it meant he thought of himself as King. Still, "Basileia" had a sort of ring to it, and the Master was smiling, and that was worth the entire universe.

They parked the TARDIS for the night and camped - the Doctor had wood from a forest planet that burned green and lasted for hours without burning down that he'd gotten as a gift years ago, and they used it to set up a campfire on the beach, blankets set down over the damp sand. As the sun set and the stars came out, they pointed out nearby galaxies to each other and marveled at the differences the patterns in the stars held depending on where in the universe you were, and the Doctor thought he saw the Earth's galaxy in the distance but he kept that to himself.

For at least one night, they felt like children again - Koschei and Theta, children of Gallifrey, before the drumming, before the war, before the Doctor's exile and the Master's onset of insanity. It was all still there - the history, the hunger, the drums - but for one night it didn't matter.

For one night, the universe was theirs.


End file.
